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The film “The Apprentice” sheds light on Donald Trump’s career and his relationship with mentor Roy Cohn. However, Trump and his team are against it.
New York – The filmmakers of “The Apprentice” had to wait a long time to show the film about Donald Trump in cinemas. But the search for a distributor is finally over. The film is set to be released in the USA in October, just before the US election on November 5. With an all-star cast, it deals with Trump’s life in the real estate industry, his relationship with his most important mentor and a rape.
Trump life on screen: “The Apprentice” in cinemas before US election
The premiere of “The Apprentice” took place in May at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Briarcliff Entertainment, an independent distributor, is now planning to release the film in the US on October 11, as NBC NEWS reported. The film examines Trump’s rise in the real estate industry in the 1970s and 1980s, played by Marvel star Sebastian Stan. It also explores his relationship with lawyer Roy Cohn, played by Jeremy Strong from “Succession.”
The film “The Apprentice” tells the story of Donald Trump’s life and will be shown in cinemas before the US elections (archive photo). © Julia Nikhinson/dpa
The film portrays Cohn as a mentor to Trump, who made a significant contribution to his career. However, the Republican presidential candidate later distanced himself from him. Cohn died of AIDS in 1986, although he always denied being HIV-positive. The film is scheduled to be released in Germany on October 17, according to the tagesschau.de writes.
Trump portrayed as wife’s rapist in “The Apprentice”
Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi directed the film, which also features a dramatic scene with Trump’s first wife Ivana, who died in 2022. In that scene, she is raped by Trump, a claim she made in her 1990 divorce deposition. However, she later stated that she did not mean this literally, but felt abused by him.
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US author E. Jean Carroll also accuses Trump of raping her in the 1990s. The screenplay for the film was written by Gabriel Sherman, a journalist from Vanity Fair who has been covering Trump’s life for decades.
Trump team attacks film “The Apprentice”: “Garbage is pure fiction”
Trump’s team has taken a clear stance against the film. Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign spokesman, called the film “pure malicious slander” in a statement in May. He also threatened legal action. “We will file a lawsuit to address the blatantly false claims made by these alleged filmmakers,” Cheung said. “This garbage is pure fiction that inflates lies that have long been disproven.”
Trump’s lawyers have sent a cease and desist letter to the filmmakers of “The Apprentice,” as the Spiegel reported. They are trying to prevent the sale and release of the film in the USA. In a statement on the cease and desist order, the film producers wrote: “The film is a fair and balanced portrait of the former president.” They added: “We want everyone to see it and then decide.” (vk)
